Active Defense
What are Active Defenses? Normally, when one character or creature attacks another, they make a contest of Melee Basic Attack Roll vs Passive Defense Roll. In in-game terms this means that while the attacker is consciously trying to hit his or her target with the attack, the defender takes a more passive approach, trying to evade an attack or deflecting it with his weapon, shield or even armor, while not getting himself or his items damaged in any way. This approach doesn't cost the defender any of his or her Fatigue, but it has one serious danger to it - if the attack will hit and the damage isn't negated by the armor, it will immediately reduce the amount of current Hit Points of the defender. Since the damage with a lucky, precise or powerful strike can be very severe, it would be very unwise to rely only on Passive Defense to go through a fight. That is why there is a possibility to use Active Defenses. In terms of in-game story, it might be a quick parry, preventive shield blow, difficult, yet unexpected evasion, etc. This allows the defender to spend his or her Fatigue Points to increase his or her Passive Defense Roll result when it is not high enough to win the contest of Attack vs Defense. Using Active Defense When your character is being attacked and you have already rolled a Passive Defense Roll and are not happy with its results, you can choose to add a bonus to it. The normal cost is +1 to the roll for every Fatigue Points you spend. Note that this cost can be altered with certain Feats or Characteristics, or by using items to block or parry an attack. Also note that with the Magical Defense feat you can substitute Mana Points for Fatigue Points, thus using Willpower instead of Constitution. Types of Active Defenses There are three types of Active Defenses, each useful for different characters and situations: #'Dodge'. Uses normal cost of 1 FP for +1. A successful dodge (meaning, if an attack has missed against a Passive Defense Roll with a Dodge bonus) means that neither the character, nor his items are damaged in any way. This is the safest and the most universal type of Active Defense, but it is the most expensive one too, so it helps to have high Agility to lower the need to defend actively and high Constitution to have a lot of FPs to spend. #'Block'. Uses the cost of 1 FP for a bonus equal to Shield Bonus (usually this bonus is higher than 1) plus his or her modSTR, with a minimum of 1 FP spent. A character blocking the attack can use Shields (different kinds of shield have different bonuses per 1 FP spent) or weapons and even bare hands (getting +1.5 bonus to the roll for every FP spent in these cases). Note, however, that even a successful block means that the attack deals damage to the item a character's using to block, or his hands (not ignoring the armor), so using something other than a shield to block attacks is usually not a good idea. This is potentially the cheapest of all Active Defenses, but it doesn't work well against high-damaging or armor-piercing weapons, which will just break the shield. Having more Strength helps to block for less FP. #'Parry'. Uses the cost of 1 FP for a bonus equal to Parry Bonus (usually this bonus is higher than 1), with a minimum of 1 FP spent. This method of active defense is very similar to block in that it uses an item or bare hands, but instead of taking full force of the strike it rather is used to deflect it. It is also cheap and it doesn't damage the weapon, but it doesn't work against heavier or ranged weapons. Recommendations While it may seem that having the ability to actively defend against attacks can turn your character invulnerable, especially if you have plenty of fatigue-restoring Potions, or have a spellcaster with similar spells, this is not the case. His or her defense can still be breached by means like: *Multiple enemies attacking in one turn - every consequent hit will penalize your character's Passive Defense Roll, so his or her Fatigue may not last until the start of next turn. *Prolonged fights (especially with non-living creatures or constructs) — your character's Daily Fatigue isn't infinite, so even if you have potions or spells restoring your immediate fatigue, your Daily Fatigue will increase. *Critical Hits and very high Melee Basic Attack Rolls can still penetrate your defenses. Without any bonuses or penalties, the difference between non-critical hit and Passive Defense Roll can be as high as 18, while normal Immediate Stamina is only 25, so even two rolls like that are too much. *Any unexpected attacks, such as Sneak Attacks or Surprise Attacks — any attack that denies the use of Active Defense can still be extremely lethal. *Some magical or environmental attacks bypass Active Defenses completely.